New human rights NGO “Nasha Viasna” (“Our spring”) is about to be registered or not registered by Belarus authorities. Many experts will perceive this decision as a sign of democratic development or eventual regression. Is Belarusian government ready for real change, or just ‘cosmetic’ correction?
On the list of founders of “Nasha Viasna” are many activists from Human rights defending center “Viasna” – one of the most influential NGOs in Belarus, closed down by the regime in 2003.
“A new try is very important. Especially now, when more freedom for Belarusian NGOs is demanded by the whole civilized world. The question of “Nasha Viasna” legalization is put specifically in the recent resolution of the European Parliament – says the founder of the organization Ales Bialiatski, left, – in this situation, actually, we suggest the Belarusian authorities correct their past mistakes and renew the registration of Human rights center “Viasna” under the new name suggested”.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Justice is sending letters to the founders of the new organization with questions about the time and place of the first meeting of “Nasha Viasna” initiative, number of participants and authentic signatures. Human rights defender from Brest Uladzimir Malei expressed his worries about this legal process in his interview for Radio “Svaboda”: “The real reason for sending these letters is to find “formal hitches” and use them to deny registration. The official in charge of registration process in the Ministry of Justice is Aliaksandr Kharyton who is related to the mass liquidation of Belarus NGOs in the past. For this reason he was on the EU’s list of persons “non grata”. Besides, the founders of “Nasha Viasna” are again subject to harsh security checks while crossing Belarus borders”.
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Belarusian human rights center “Viasna” was closed down by the regime in 2003. For many years, activists of “Visana” have been unsuccessfully trying to apply for new registration. The UN Human Rights Committee has declared this a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, this UN body’s decision was ignored by the Belarusian government. The mentioning of the “Viasna” in EP resolution marked the changes of the situation.
On 18 December 2008 about 70 human rights defenders gathered in Minsk to found a new organization “Nasha Viasna” and sent registration documents to the Ministry of Justice.
